US PCL Consortium Wins $1 Billion Wastewater Plant Upgrade Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 28, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) selected a consortium formed by PCL Construction and Jacobs Project Management to undertake the nutrient reduction retrofit project at the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant, with an owner-estimated investment of approximately $1 billion. The project adopts the Progressive Design-Build delivery model, focusing on upgrading the existing wastewater treatment facilities to reduce inorganic nitrogen pollutants discharged into San Francisco Bay, with construction scheduled for completion in 2034.

The Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant is the largest wastewater treatment facility in San Francisco, treating nearly 80% of the city's combined stormwater and sewage each year. This upgrade will focus on retrofitting the existing treatment systems and adding advanced nutrient removal processes to reduce the total inorganic nitrogen content in treated effluent. The new processes must meet updated state and federal environmental requirements, and retrofit construction will be carried out while the plant continues to operate, with existing wastewater treatment services required to remain fully operational.

The project adopts the Progressive Design-Build delivery model, under which the contractor team will work with the owner during the preliminary design phase to evaluate different wastewater treatment technologies and determine the processes and engineering implementation plans suitable for the existing plant site. PCL Construction and Jacobs Project Management each hold a 50% interest in the consortium and are responsible for project design and construction. Engineering design work is being provided jointly by Jacobs Engineering, Hazen, and Stantec.

In addition to the wastewater treatment process upgrades, project implementation also requires coordinating the interface between the operation of existing facilities and the construction of new systems. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will work with the joint design and construction team to optimize the approach and determine the technical route and construction arrangements for retrofitting the existing plant site. The project has now completed the selection of the design-build team, and will subsequently advance the comparison and selection of treatment technologies, detailed engineering design, and on-site construction organization.